


won't you leave all your fears at the edge of the world?

by annabetncnase



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, Latino Percy, early relationship angst is my fav, he is latino you cannot tell me otherwise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:49:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23434942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annabetncnase/pseuds/annabetncnase
Summary: Percy and Annabeth's dates are bound to be interrupted. This one was no different. Post-TLO, pre-TLH.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Comments: 16
Kudos: 110





	won't you leave all your fears at the edge of the world?

**Author's Note:**

> i wanted to talk a little bit abt the achilles spot. but the only thing that matters is that percy is latino basically

So what Annabeth thought they were going to have a monster free date? A girl can hope, right?

Hopeful she was when Percy met her outside the gates of school on that Friday. She’d had an exam absurdly early in the semester and she decided to reward herself for all the late nights of studying. Thankfully, her favorite reward (her boyfriend) was available that night. She told him to meet her at six, so she’d have time to shower and get ready, you know, do all the stuff one does for date night.

He looked adorable in his jeans and band t-shirt, his hair tousled as ever. She sped up towards him, hugging him and pressing a quick kiss to his lips. “Hi,” she greeted him.

“Hey,” Percy said back. “How was your exam?”

“Pretty sure I aced it.”

“Shocking. Ready to go?”

“Yes,” she smiled.

Percy had showed up at her school like that a few times before. The first time he’d done it, all the other girls were, to say the least, surprised. Annabeth wasn’t exactly an open book, so no one knew she had a boyfriend. And she was modest, but she knew Percy was more attractive than the other boys she’d seen around there. They were used to it by now, even though they still got a look or two

She took his hand and let him lead her down the street. He’d proposed a burger at their favorite diner. It was a very small place owned by a regular customer at the candy shop Sally used to work at, and the food was actually delicious. The diner wasn’t far from Percy’s apartment, so he was probably going to make her come up and say hi to his mom, which she didn’t mind either.

The subway was full, as usual. This meant they had to be unusually alert - a monster in a train full of people is a lot harder to get rid of. The mist usually did a good job, but two teenagers promoting chaos in a small space full of tired people returning from work was not acceptable by your average authority’s standards. However, they made it out okay.

They got off the 6 just a couple blocks away from Carlo’s. Percy had taken Annabeth there so many times she knew the way with her eyes closed.

“Percy!” Carlo exclaimed. They were such loyal customers they’d become well acquainted with the owner.

“Hola,” Percy greeted him. “Como vas?”

“Bien, y tu? And you Annabeth, how are you doing?”

“I’m good, thanks.”

“The usual for you two?”

“Yeah, thank you!” Percy asked.

They took their usual table at the corner by the TV. Carlo usually played Mexican soap operas, which Annabeth found terribly silly and entertaining. Percy would translate the juiciest parts and later they’d theorize about what would happen in the next episode.

“Okay, so Raquel just told Marco that their kid was kidnapped,” Percy translated.

“Who’s their kid again?”

“Francisco, remember? The one that wants to be a soccer player.”

“Oh, shit. What are they gonna do?”

“Well, Raquel is having an affair with that cop, so she’ll probably ask him to help.”

“Well, I’m sure that’ll go wonderfully.”

“Yeah, I thi- wait, shut up, she’s calling him,” Percy watched the TV intently. “Okay, so obviously Marco was listening in to their conversation and he heard him call her a pet name, so I assume they’re gonna fight now. Yep, there you go.”

Carlo arrived with their burgers just as the fictional couple started an intense argument. The food was enough to distract them from the TV for a while, and Percy told Annabeth about his own week at school. He wasn’t brave enough to tell her, but she could tell he missed having Rachel around now that she was going to boarding school. Annabeth didn’t mind. Sure, had it been a few weeks later, that would have driven her green with jealousy, but after she and Percy started dating, she realized Rachel was actually pretty great. They now texted pretty frequently and were planning on going on to the MET together some day.

They took one last look at the soap opera before leaving for Percy’s place (Raquel and Marco decided to leave the divorce for after they found Francisco). They waved goodbye to Carlo and started making their way up to 125th.

It was darker now, a bit quieter. From the distance, Annabeth heard a bird shriek a bit louder than usual.

“That’s a weird bird sound,” she commented.

_ That’s a weird bird sound,  _ she realized immediately drawing her hand to her dagger on her belt. Percy came to the same realization, reaching for Riptide in his pocket.

They heard it again, closer this time. The mortals around them were unbothered, pushing through the streets as usual. Suddenly, diving from the top of a nearby building, a mess of orange wings and feathers flew past them, going into an alley at the end of the block.

“What the hell was that?” Percy asked.

“No idea, but I don’t think it’s friendly.”

“It’s better if it doesn’t leave that alley. I don’t want these people to get in the middle of it.”

Annabeth agreed. “Let’s go.”

They approached the alley as quietly as possible. The creature, now sitting near a wall, made quiet squeaks, as if it was deciding what it would scream next.

Annabeth took a closer look at it. Behind the bright feathers and huge bird feet, she recognized a face that almost looked human.

“It’s a harpy,” she whispered.

“You don’t think it’s one of the nice ones that clean up our cabins, do you?”

“Not really.”

In fact, the harpy looked the opposite of nice. It looked like it hadn’t eaten in weeks, and was just waiting for a couple of juicy demigods to walk by.

“At least we got to finish our dinner,” Percy observed before uncapping his sword. The  _ shrink _ riptide made while turning into a sword was enough to catch the harpy’s attention.

“There goes the element of surprise,” Annabeth said. “Let’s go.”

They automatically went into battle mode, as comfortable as holding hands. Annabeth took the left and Percy, the right, each approaching the harpy from one side. The creature stood up from where it was crouched, flapping its wings aggressively as a warning.

“You hungry, miss?” Percy called. “Come get it.”

The harpy obliged. It took off from its corner, flying in Percy’s direction. Percy swung his sword in its direction, missing by a couple of inches. No matter how hungry it was, the creature was also fast. 

Annabeth advanced in their direction, looking to hit the monster before it could make another dive, but she was too late. The harpy attacked Percy again, digging its claws into his shoulder. Annabeth took half a second to thank the gods for the Achilles curse before running after them.

The monster was clearly heavy, flapping its wings and pushing Percy backwards quickly into the alley. Percy couldn’t fight back, struggling for balance.

“Percy, watch your step!”

Unfortunately, his vision was blocked by the wings. Percy tripped on a brick lying on the floor and fell backwards. The harpy let go of his shoulders, startled by the sudden motion.

“Hey, chicken!” Annabeth yelled. “I’m right here!”

The harpy switched its target, flying in Annabeth’s direction this time. She waited until the very last second then ducked, letting the creature fly over her head, then turning around quickly. The monster landed on the ground, and Annabeth ran in its direction, hoping to get to it before it could realize what had just happened. She did not run fast enough, however. Just as the harpy flew upwards, Annabeth heard a loud metal clang from behind her. Percy had thrown an entire garbage can against a wall, hoping to catch the monster’s attention.

It worked. The harpy flew in his direction once again, and Annabeth followed. Percy was ready this time - when the monster was about to cling onto him, he ducked, like Annabeth had done. This time, he was in the very back of the alley, and the harpy didn’t have anywhere else to go. It crashed onto the wall and tried to fly up, scratching its claws against the wall and flapping its wings desperately. Annabeth thought they had it. Percy was standing up by the wall, sword in hand, waiting for the monster to fall.

However, instead of giving up and falling down the wall, the harpy used it as impulse to fly sideways. Its closest target was Percy, but he was too close to the wall for the harpy to get to his face. Standing a few feet from him, Annabeth was far enough to see the monster’s trajectory - it was going to fly around him and try to cling onto his shoulders from the back, but its wings still weren’t working properly from the crash, so it was going to go lower than its target. Its claws would hit his back directly, probably scratching all the way down until it fell due to lack of support.

When Annabeth realized what was about to happen, it was too late to let Percy know. She took off running and crashed her body against his, pushing him off the harpy’s trajectory. In turn, it tried to grab onto Annabeth, but she was moving too fast. The monster fell down and rolled across the floor. Annabeth used this advantage to step on the harpy’s head as hard as she could, holding it still as she finished the fight with her dagger. The monster exploded in a cloud of smoke.

Percy ran over. He was barely breathing heavily, even though Annabeth felt like she’d just played a soccer match.

“Annabeth, what the hell was that?” He asked, and Annabeth wasn’t sure what he meant. He looked frustrated.

“Um, I killed the monster? What are you talking about?”

“I mean you pushing me off the way! What’d you do that for?”

“It was going to hit your Achilles spot, Percy! You were too close to see where it was going, but I could see it. It was really close!”

“So you just almost kill yourself like that?”

“What was I supposed to do, let you die?”

“That’s not- Annabeth, I was gonna be fine! Did you see how sharp that thing’s claws were?”

“You were  _ not _ gonna be fine! You couldn’t see it like I could! Percy, you can’t expect me to just stand there and watch you get killed.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Neither do you! Look, I’m not made of paper. I can handle a monster.”

“I never said that.”

“It feels like you think that.”

“What? Annabeth, that’s insane.”

“Is it?”

“Yes!”

Annabeth didn’t know how to respond. They just looked at each other in silence for a couple of seconds, taking in what had just happened. Ever since they’d started dating, they had never had an argument like this. Annabeth didn’t miss this feeling.

Percy sighed loudly. “Fuck.”

“What?”

“This. All of this is stupid.”

A ball of ice formed in Annabeth’s stomach. “This what? Us?”

Percy raised his eyebrows in surprise. “No! Not us. Gods, us is not stupid.” He stepped closer to her, taking her hands. He sounded softer now. “Just- we almost just died and we’re fighting. I shouldn’t have been mad that you stepped in, I know you can handle anything. I’m just… really terrified of losing you.”

“I am too,” she replied, pulling him closer. “There’s a lot more to lose now, don’t you think?”

He nodded.

“Besides,” she added, “you would have done the same for me.”

“That’s true,” he admitted. “I guess this relationship will just be me putting myself in risk to save you and vice-versa, won’t it?”

“Well, that and other stuff too.”

“Yeah, other stuff sounds great, actually. A lot better than almost dying.”

“Agreed.”

He smiled and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

“Now that we’ve faced our usual date monster, are you ready for some cookies? I’m pretty sure my mom made some.”

“Can’t wait.”

**Author's Note:**

> chat w me on tumblr! @annabetncnase  
> title is a lyric from 5 seconds of summer's 'red desert'


End file.
